The Ghost Stories of M. R. James

by M.R. James

MR James (1862–1936) began composing his antiquarian ghost stories for a close circle of his colleagues at the University of Cambridge, to whom he would read them aloud every Christmas Eve. These 13 unnerving tales, inspired by his belief that objects from centuries ago can harbour unsettling associations, includes such classics as Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lord and The Haunted Doll's House.

256 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2025

About the author

Montague Rhodes James, who used the publication name M.R. James, was a noted English mediaeval scholar & provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–18) & of Eton College (1918–36). He's best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature. One of James' most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal Gothic trappings of his predecessors, replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

M.R.^James

Reviews

[Tom Trudel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes one does best to not meddle with unknown forces. Maybe a little formulaic by the end but pulls on more traditional haunting myths to deliver more rooted horror tales. "Oh, Whistle..." is the most effective of these, with other close contenders being maybe "The Wailing Well" or "A Warning to the Curious".